Rush
by thinkatory
Summary: Rose/Kanaya college AU. "Nice dress," she says, breezily, and glances back at you. She's pretty. You flush. Probably in more ways than one. You try to remember how to talk. You worry that she now thinks you've been dipping into the sopor, and you're one of those co-eds, and - and, you're not talking


College AU. Rose/Kanaya, a touch of Kanaya&Karkat friendship. Don't overthink it.

* * *

You're finally at college.

You made it. This should be really, very great. Your friends have come along with you, you're finally, maybe over your high school flushcrush, and you get to do what you've always wanted to do and never totally had the time to - exclusively spend your time designing clothes.

And it's not that you're unhappy. It just doesn't feel as completely awesome as it should. Not complete. Not yet.

Then again, you're only two weeks into your first semester.

"Stop… staring into space. You look like you're having a nervous breakdown. You're stressing me out," Karkat says, not looking up from his computer.

"You're always stressed out," you tell him. "I told you you should have stayed undeclared. CompSci is not a good major for you."

"Shut up. I can totally do it," he says, on edge.

"I just mean that Sollux isn't going to be able to help you out the way he has through high school," you say, reasonably.

"I don't need his help!"

"I'm not saying you always will." You phrase it deliberately, diplomatically. "...Look. Karkat. I think you need a break. There's a mixer tonight for freshmen."

"I am not going to some place where there'll be weird interspecies hookups," Karkat says firmly.

"Don't be speciesist," you say, calmly, though that's always irritated you a lot. "It's unnecessary."

"I think it's fucked up. Not because they're a different species. Just, people pitchcrushing on humans is weird and fucked up and messes with their heads, movies are right about that. Not to even mention who the fuck knows what's going on in their pants or what happens if you accidentally 'impregnate' one with a 'baby' - "

"I really don't know why you just put baby in scarequotes," you say, maybe inappropriately amused. "How do you even know interspecies relationships are a thing here?"

"I can tell. I've seen humans all over the place, and people just want to fuck like grassbeasts at our age." He types furiously all the while.

"Even you?" you ask, casually.

"No."

"Ah," you say.

"Dammit, Kanaya, leave it alone."

One of these days you'll figure out some way to get Karkat to admit what's up and actually deal with it. One of these days.

"Please, come with me," you ask instead, and put your arms around him as he sits at the computer and glowers at the screen. "I don't want to be the sad single girl there."

"There are going to be so many sad single girls there it won't even be funny," Karkat says, grumpily, though you feel his shoulders relaxing. "You'll have your pick."

"So will you."

He makes a long-suffering sound, and you smile against his hair. "Fine. For like a half hour. After that I'm fucking off."

"I'll see if any of the others will come. I'll bet Terezi will make it, it may help her rush the sorority full of pre-laws."

He doesn't say anything to that specifically. "Great."

You kiss the top of his head and go to pick out an outfit.

It's a heftier task than it sounds.

* * *

There's some good news; there are a lot of single girls here, mostly in giggling groups, a fair amount of fashion design majors you can talk to, and the theme is… there is no theme. You couldn't be more relieved, because these things looked really embarrassing when you shadowed here.

Anyway, it's essentially what Karkat said it would be, but Aradia's convinced Sollux to come so she can talk to new people - who, for the record, all look a little spooked and are keeping their distance - so at least the boys can comfortably bitch back and forth and sit in a corner with Sollux's husktop. You have the distinct feeling that this has become an unwilling tutoring session.

You'd judge, but right now you're standing back and looking at all the people - all the girls - even the human girls - and you're doing literally nothing.

You're not even sure what you'd do if someone approached you right WHAT someone brushes past you.

"Nice dress," she says, breezily, and glances back at you.

She's pretty. You flush. Probably in more ways than one. You try to remember how to talk. You worry that she now thinks you've been dipping into the sopor, and you're one of those co-eds, and -

And, you're not talking.

"Well, all right," she says to your silence, and shrugs at you, turning back around.

"Kanaya," you say, in a rush, all breathless like you've been running. Were you holding your breath? "My name's Kanaya."

She turns back to you. "Rose," she says, and extends a hand. You do your best to make it a nice, not particularly trollish handshake. "Did you make that dress?"

You instantly get paranoid. The dress must look terrible, she can tell you only spent a few days on it, you're not as good at this as you thought, et cetera. "Yes," you say, hesitant.

"It's good," she says, and you relax just slightly, then you straighten because she's tilting her head to look at other angles and is she checking you out? Wow, you're terrible at this. "Do you want a drink?"

"Um," you say, brilliantly.

"I don't drink," she says. "But if you want one, I'll go get it."

"I… don't drink either," you say, because it's true, really.

She smiles, or maybe more of a half-smirk, really, and you give her a half-smile, and she gestures for you to follow her.

As you go, you pass by Karkat and Sollux, and you turn to look, then quickly look away when you see that Karkat has two bottles of sopor next to him and is arguing loudly with Sollux. It's not that you're ashamed of your friends, it's… just that, you know, there's a pretty girl, and you have to focus.

Rose pours out some lemonade for you. "See," she says, "I helped plan this. They wanted to do some sort of offensive theme that was speciesist against trolls, actually, and that's when I decided to take it over. Anyway, I told the guys that if they dosed the drinks with anything they'd have me to answer to. You don't know me yet, but that's a fairly effective threat."

"I can believe it," you admit.

"I knew you made that. You look like a fashion design major." She doesn't let you answer that. "You were looking at people's clothes. I know Jade's dress is a little gaudy, but she makes it work. Isn't she pretty?"

"Um," you say again.

"I think so too," Rose says, "but she's straight, and my friend on top of that. But that doesn't necessarily stop things from starting, does it? Not that I'm flushed for her, or anything."

You've generally assumed most human girls are "straight," actually, that they're only attracted to the opposite gender, the polar opposite of you, which is one reason you've never dated one - the main reason being that you've never really dated anyone ever. But Rose isn't straight, and you are happier about this news than you should be. "No," you admit.

"Ever flush for a friend?"

"That's… personal," you say.

"That's a yes," she says. "Are you single?"

What? Is this happening? "Why are you asking?"

"My brother says I need to branch out and try to date instead of just 'scaring the shit out of everyone,'" she says. "But he's too scared to ask a girl out. I wanted to prove at least one of us could do it. Talk to a girl, I mean."

"This doesn't seem like the first time you've talked to a girl," you say, maybe a bit wryly, even through your dumb shock.

"Are you calling me a player?" Rose brushes past that, with a teasing look. "I have other priorities."

"Like - "

"Valedictorian," she says. "Top of the class. Et cetera. President of whatever I can find."

"Sororities?" you ask.

"Sororities are too easy."

You've actually had that thought. And you really like her, now, it's not just that she's pretty and forward, she's fucking smart and you need to figure out a way to keep her from leaving you to hit on another girl to make a point to her brother. And, hopefully, to keep her from leaving it at that forever. "But it'd be fun to rush one with you," you say.

A tinge of pink flushes her cheeks, and you are astounded to realize that stupid sentence actually worked. "Are you suggesting we… _troll_ a sorority, Kanaya?"

"I suggested no such thing," you say, mock-briskly. "Just that it would be fun."

"Not the pre-law sorority," Rose says, thoughtfully. "Full of armed future legislacerators, right? Not Feferi Peixes's sorority - "

"She's not so bad," you say, then reconsider. "Actually, she's great."

She pauses. "You know Feferi Peixes?"

"High school," you say, and pause, not sure whether to say it. "Vriska Serket, too."

Her eyebrows lift, and you know it's not about you and Vriska, there's no way anyone knows about that debacle, it's about Vriska and the papers and the SAT, that whole scandal, but you still feel like she can see through you. "Is she as… duplicitous as she sounds?"

"Yeah," you say. "Basically."

"You'll have to introduce me." Rose pushes her hair out of her eyes. "Come with me, I want to show you off to my brother. He's into troll girls, he'll be jealous as hell."

Now you're officially embarrassed in the best possible way, and before she goes ahead you briefly touch her hand, tangle your fingers with hers, and she sends you a look that's pure interest and intrigue. Then she releases your hand, and moves ahead of you, all perfectly casual.

"Dave," she calls ahead. "I have someone you want to meet."

You smile.

Or maybe it's more of a smirk.


End file.
